"Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown." George Shinn

I cannot believe how fast this semester has gone, but I have come to realize that time surely does fly by! I would have never guessed myself to be in this position two years ago, being in college and such. It is amazing to think about that bad place I was in at the time, and the wonderful place I am in now, all due to CHANGE! It was definitely intimidating coming into college as an adult with a bunch of kids, but most of the kids, have somehow become friends and I have actually learned a lot from many of them. For that I am so thankful. The professor's in this school are phenomenal! They take the time to get to know you and it is more personal based then you feeling like you are just a number. Coming into this institution I truly did not realize how much I would learn, and I am happy to report in just a few months just how much I have learned, and have grown myself. We are ever changing. There is always room to grow no matter how old you are. I had a great first semester. I can not wait to see what the Spring will bring. Another change I am so looking forward to. It has been a pleasant surprise so far for me. I have enjoyed expressing myself here on blogger as well and intend to keep it up, I can't let my followers down! :) To all my new friends, thank you for accepting me for who I am and the best of luck to you all! Ms. G, I thoroughly enjoyed your class, you have a wonderful and patient teaching style which has made it so interesting and has kept my attention. Keep up the good work! :)

"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance." Harrison Ford

The Thanksgiving holiday is coming to a close. I had a wonderful time with family and friends this season. I talked about my experiences I've had here at Eastern thus far with them. Everyone of them could not have been prouder of me for taking such a big step such as this and were so supportive of my decision. Their support has just reassured me that I have made a huge change to better myself and my future. It was a scary thing for me when I first decided to take the plunge and go back to school full time but I am so glad I did. I am learning so much already and it is only the end of the first semester. I realize I will finally be a graduate before I know it and cannot wait to start a new career.

"Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it." Harry Emerson Fosdick

Since attending college here at Eastern, I have become more spiritual a person. I grew up in a Catholic home, attended Catholic high school for 12 years, but somehow got away from religion as I got older. I have always believed in God, that will never change. I just got away from the church once I got on my own. I see the good in all these kids that I am attending school with and how passionate they are about God and their Christianity and to me it is quite amazing. I have talks with my family about how I see these kids today and how I admire them and look up to them because of it. I find myself praying more now and even attended mass with my parents last week. They couldn't have been happier. I admire Nathan's blog so much because like mine, its about change but about a different change. As much as I have come to embrace the change that has happened to me in my life and has gotten me on a better path, there is still room for improvement in being a good Christian. I hope to learn to embrace this change as well too. Thanks for your inspiring words Nathan!

We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing." R. D. Laing

My titles within this blog will always have to do with change. I believe a good or catchy title is going to grab your readers attention. I found a perfect quote for my title this week because I want to talk about a great experience I had in my Western Civilization class last week. We talked about the changes that came about in West and East Germany. I never liked history in high school. I find it very interesting now. Maybe it was because my teachers back then never interested me. Or maybe I am old enough now to appreciate what has taken place in history, and how we as American's have come about because of history. We learned about the Berlin wall, when it went up in 1961, something I thought went up much earlier in time then that. It went down in 1989, I was 14 then and I remember watching it on TV and was in awe about it. Time really does seem to fly by. It didn't seem that long ago when it was knocked down. The kids in my class were not even born yet when that happened. It was a class I will not forget. I remember stories my mom used to tell me about things in history such as John F. Kennedy being assassinated and how it affected her with being a huge supporter to him at the time. To me hearing those stories when I was younger didn't affect me at all, well because if I didn't live through it I could not relate. I have a much more deeper respect now for history and those who lived through huge historic events. I have lived through many myself and hope one day when I have a family that the stories I pass down will be appreciated. It took me a while to learn this. As we get older we learn more things not only about the world, but about ourselves.

Like the four seasons, we too must embrace change.

It's that time of year. When we fall back and gain that hour. I love that we gain an hour but I hate that it becomes so dark at about 5pm. You have to take the good with the bad and I have learned to do that in the past couple of years. With the good things that have come about in my life with recent changes, the things that I always dreaded I now just look differently at in a good way and why those things are needed in life. Although I am a summer girl, I do love the fall as well. The changing leaves on the trees are so beautiful right now. I love driving into campus each day and seeing a new and vibrant color. It makes me happy and a sort of calm and peacefulness comes over me when I gaze at them. It was a good week. I had a bad week last week but like I said, I have gotten past it. The weekend was fun with Halloween parties, and the cutest trick or treaters in my neighborhood came out tonight. I hope to have an even better week coming up and I am going to try my best to make that happen! Until next week, stay tuned...

"Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts." Arnold Bennett

It has been a tough week for me. I had a heavy school and work load this week, and it has taken a toll on me physically and mentally. I caught a cold and am finally getting over it. I find myself eating more than usual, especially at night at the restaurant I work in which should be avoided in my case because of my history with emotional eating. I know I will get back on track with my exercise routine and with eating regularly instead of emotionally like I had done this past week. It is a never ending battle for me, but I remain positive no matter what kind of week I have had. I know there are going to be days in life where at times I will feel down, overwhelmed and aggravated with what may be going on at the time. I also know that I am strong enough to overcome these feelings with my optimistic side. Like my title states, even though I have changed for the better, it was a long road to get me here and at times there will always be some drawbacks and discomforts, but it is a new day, a new week, and I am feeling better already.

“Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.” Robert C. Gallagher

I found this quote and it made me chuckle. It reminded me of something funny that happened to me this week too. I went to one of the vending machines on campus to get a snack. I usually bring my lunch and snacks with me on my longer days in classes. Since I have learned how to eat properly now and the best way for me to maintain it is to eat many small meals a day. Well I was running late the one morning so I forgot to bring food with me. I ate breakfast as I always do (very important meal of the day) but when I realized I had forgot my lunch all I could do was get a snack. Of course what are in the vending machines are not a wide selection of healthy stuff. I have just enough money for Twizzlers, which at least it is a low fat choice. I think to myself the very thing that happened. Please don't get stuck, please don't get stuck as I am really hungry at this point. Go figure, it gets stuck! And it was the only change I had on me at the time. I wanted to shake that machine so bad! I luckily had some money in my car, but I had to wait til after my next class because at this point, I didn't have time. Food is your energy source. That next class I was in I felt as though I could not concentrate because of the little energy I had that day. Morale of my story is please do not go to classes on an empty stomach. It is what will keep you focused all day, especially if you eat breakfast, that is a biggie. Start now if you are not! I can promise you what a difference you will see by doing so. Bon Appetite!

"It's never too late to change your life, to be proud of yourself, and be who you really are." Valerie Bertinelli

This video still brings tears to my eyes when I watch it:



Valerie Bertinelli is a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. I admire her tremendously! I joined shortly after her, and I felt like I was following in her footsteps the whole way. She talks about a half marthon that she just finished in this video. You see tears of joy and how proud of herself she is and how it is so surreal to her, that she can hardly believe it. I too at times feel that way. I went from not even being able to do one wall push-up when I was overweight, to doing about 30 men-style push-ups when I work out, and I too sometimes can not believe how much I have accomplished. I plan to run the Broad Street this year. It is a 10 mile marathon in Philadelphia. I was unable to do it this past year as I was real sick at the time and I was really bummed about it. Well, May will be here before we know it and I plan to attend this year. It will be such a wonderful experience I am sure like this was for Valerie. I can relate to many things that she talks about in her video blogs. She is 50 years old and looks fantastic! I want to be just as healthy when that time comes as I am now. Following her blogs keeps me motivated! I recommend starting some sort of work out regimine now friends, especially now while you are still so young. It really is worth it, and it makes you feel great, energized, and happy.

We talked a lot about all the negative advertising out there in society today. I can honestly say that Jenny Craig never once had any sort of negative effect on me and has done just quite the opposite. It is so great to see what a positive impact Jenny Craig has had on their clients. I was so successful in my journey, that I got about 5 friends to join as well and they too are conquering their weight battle with Jenny Craig. The video above on Valerie's journey is so motivating to me. Here is another video on their newest spokesperson, Sara Rue:



Both these videos are the real deal to me. Sure they are both famous, but they are both human too. They both battled with weight for a long time, they both conquered that battle with the help of Jenny Craig and are proud to tell their story to the world. I feel the same way as these 2 wonderful, strong and happy women do, and I am not famous. I love my life just the way it is now and I do have Jenny to thank for getting me to this point, so thank you Jenny!! :)

"Keep Your Coins, I Want Change"

In my last post, I analyzed Jenny Craig's website and talked about the many sections that helped me in my weight loss journey. I still utilize the site and recommend anyone to visit this site as well for healthy lifestyle tips on diet and exercise. But I would like to talk about a totally different website in my blog today. It is another blog that I have been following and just love reading. I had mentioned that when I go to post other peoples blogs or websites within my own, I was going to post ones that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside and an example of one of these blogs is my fellow classmate Deanna's Blog. It is one of positivity, of inspiration, of a relationship with God. When I am having somewhat of a bad day I just go to her blog and it sets me straight realizing all is well in my little world again. My titles are always going to talk about change. My title here this week is from one of her pictures posted on her last blog as well. I just loved it and even told her I was going to steal it! Thanks Deanna! :) 

Another fellow classmate's blog I enjoy reading and that is also about change, is Nathan's Blog. Although our blogs are very different, they bring us back to the very same subject of change. Change effected us both in a very powerful and meaningful way. I find it is another positive blog that can inspire others and their relationships with God. It is refreshing to me to read these wonderful and encouraging blogs from such young students. I have read each and every one of my fellow classmates blogs and I enjoy them all. Not just Deanna's and Nathan's. Everyone has something worthwhile and extraordinary to say. I look forward to reading them weekly.

“We Change Lives” – Jenny Craig.com

How bitter sweet that this is Jenny Craig’s logo and I did not even realize it. While I was on the program, I am sure I have seen it as I have been using their website as one of my many tools to help facilitate my weight loss. But the logo itself didn’t catch my eye until now, being that my blog is all about the positive change in my life. Amazing how just a title can put things into perspective when I look back. Jenny Craig truly did help change me in all aspects not just physically. Before I go on my analysis of their website, I just am going to digress some and share with you one of the many comments I get when I see someone that I have not seen in a long time. The following is taken right from one of the comments on one of my Facebook pictures:

“Cuuute pic! So I still can't get over how AWESOME you look! You should carry around a video camera to capture people's facial expressions when they see you! My friend said mine was priceless! Anywhooo...CONGRATS on your new skinny self! I can’t believe how much you’ve changed.. Now go rock the cutest itty bitty bikinis and enjoy the rest of your summer girly! :)”  My friend Kristin who I hadn’t seen in a year wrote that. It was so sweet of her to write that, as this little comment just made me smile, and I have not forgotten it since she wrote it last month. It’s the little things that can make me smile, and that surely did from ear to ear.

Now, on to their website which consists of the following sections:

Our Program – This basically just describes the program and how it works. It lists options that will fit your lifestyle. It has activities and fitness links. This section also will get you in contact with a consultant, and give you a list of near by centers in your area.

Success Stories – I absolutely love this section and hearing people’s success stories. Here you an also be a fan on Facebook, which is one of the first things I did once I joined Jenny Craig. There tips of the day really helped me. They also have a section here that explains how you can submit a success story to Jenny Craig, which I never really thought about doing until now. I think I will!

Food – This is another great section. I love to eat. I mean, that is how I got overweight in the first place! Here it lists their food selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner and featured recipes.

Articles & Tips – Within this section you would find featured articles to help you stay motivated while on your weight loss journey. They also give great exercise tips!

Community – They have a chat room where you can chat with people just like yourself that may need some extra support. There are blogs from the many celebrity spokespersons from Jason Alexander to Sara Rue. Valerie Bertinelli is my fave! The woman has been a real inspiration to me. I keep up with her blogs and videos weekly.

E-Tools – This part of their website is for their clients. It helps with your weekly menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It helps you tally calories. It helps you track your progress, and has an activity planner. It is your main source of assistance while on the program. Above all, this part helped me tremendously as I was on it. It has helped me establish my own way of calorie counting and work out regimens now, on my own.

So, there you have it. That is the gist of their website. It is what got me started when I knew I was going to join. I went to it that Monday I realized I wanted to do something about my weight. What I did not realize though, was how much it has tremendously changed me as a whole. If you asked me a year and a half ago if I thought I would be here, at this point in my life, I would probably have laughed out loud and said NEVER! Now if I were to talk about Jenny Craig as a whole I could go on and on. I guess it is a good thing we are writing these blogs then. Because I will be doing just that, writing more about their program so, you guessed it, stay tuned…

“Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”

So I guess it all started when I woke up one Monday morning in March of 09 and just about had it with myself personally with being overweight. I remember looking in the mirror that day and was just completely disgusted to the point where I just broke into tears. I knew I had to something about it as this was not the person I wanted to be anymore. In my 20's, I was always an active girl that kept in good shape. Once I hit 30, I seemed to have lost that ambition and I can't quite explain why. I so wanted to be that girl again that kept a healthy lifestyle so I decided that was exactly what I was going to do. I was about 60 pounds over weight. I knew it was going to be a long road but I was ready. I knew what I had to do, I just needed that extra push and motivation to get me back on track so I joined Jenny Craig. It truly was one of the best experiences of my life. It wasn't just about eating their food. They taught me a lot about nutrition and how to implement it to my life. I was actually doing it now, and not just wishing it would just magically happen by itself. I got back into working out and I've never felt better. I feel like I am in better shape now then I was 10 years ago. It's not always easy working out as much as I like to, but you have to just find the time somehow. It has been been a year and a half now and I have successfully kept the weight off. In my next blog, I will go into further detail about my Jenny Craig journey and how its led me here. Stay tuned....

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein

What a great quote! Seems so obvious to me now. A couple of years ago though, not so much. I am living proof of that quote. I was unhappy with just about everything in my life. I longed for a change. For things to turn for the best. For happiness. I truly thought one day I would just wake up and all my problems would just go away. Well my friends that's not the case. If you want something to change, and if you are unhappy with the way things are going for you, then you have to DO something about it. You can't just sit there as life passes you by and hope things will just happen. Don't pray to God for it. God will be there for you that I know. He is not just going to give you what you want. What fun would that be? But I promise you, he will give you the strength, courage and hope to help you achieve what you set your heart out to do. In my future posts, I will tell you how I got to my happy place. How at one time I hated my dead end job, and I hated the way I looked with being very overweight. Being depressed in general caused me much grief. It distanced me from my friends and family. It made me feel as though I would never find love. It made me not want to get up in the morning and feeling simply hopeless. Well all that has changed and I can't wait to fill you in. Stay tuned!